The objectives of this study are to further define and characterize the biochemical and structural changes involved in maturation of collagen in a heritable connective tissue disorder of animals, the Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, and to correlate these findings with age-related changes which occur in normal animals and people. The Ehlers-Danlos syndrome of dogs and mink is an autosomal dominant trait and, in this regard, is similar to the autosomal dominant forms of the Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (type 1 through 3) of people. The syndrome in these species is accompanied clinically by marked decrease in tensile strength of tissues, especially the skin. These studies involve a major effort to converge on and define the maturation defect(s) which result in reduced skin tensile strength. The ultimate objectives of this study are to understand the means of manipulating collagen maturation and cross-linking processes which occur in aging, wound healing, and disease processes involving connective tissue in people.